Contact center representatives need to be available across several channels. While a vast majority of companies would like to believe that they excel in customer service, chances are they are not doing enough.

According to the CFI Group's Contact Center Satisfaction Index 2013, faith in contact centers had dropped universally by 10 percent by the start of 2014. Many major industries - including cell phone providers, insurance companies and retail organizations, to name a few - were affected by the increasing expectations of customers. With so many advancements in communications technology, many client bases grew frustrated with trusted enterprises, leading them to take their business elsewhere.

It is certain that improvements in contact center operations can be made by seeking out cloud-based unified communications solutions. By making representatives increasingly available over many different channels, businesses of all sizes can enhance their interactions with customers and retain their patronage.

The Changing Face Of Consumer Communications

It used to be that call centers needed only a working phone connection in order to field client queries. But in an age where multiple modes of contact are available on one device, that is no longer the case.

The Contact Center Satisfaction Index found that 46 percent of consumers prefer a form of communication other than voice for their call center interactions. This development is indicative of a growing "desire for self-paced communication," where those seeking answers are able to process the information and provide their responses in a way that is comfortable to them.

To facilitate these kinds of advancements, changes will need to be made if they have not been already. In their report, CFI advised giving "more control to the consumer" by training representatives how to interact with customers via email and instant messaging. By bringing these platforms together with voice through contact center software, businesses will be better equipped to resolve problems in an effective, personalized manner.

IT Is The Heart Of Business Operations

It should go without saying that businesses need customers in order to survive. According to InformationWeek contributor James Harvey, information technology often gets a bad rap of not contributing to the overall revenue of the organization. But the kinds of advancements that contact centers need to have at their disposal are directly related to new developments in IT. To write them off as expensive and unnecessary is not only wrong, but it is counterproductive.